Research published in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry discovered that people at extremely high risk of developing a psychosis were found to be less likely to develop psychotic disorders after just 12 weeks of taking omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil).
Below is a summary of the study:
Objective: To determine whether omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) reduce the rate of progression to first-episode psychotic disorder in adolescents and young adults aged 13 to 25 years with subthreshold psychosis.
Design: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted between 2004 and 2007.
Setting: Psychosis detection unit of a large public hospital in Vienna, Austria.
Participants: Eighty-one individuals at ultra-high risk of psychotic disorder.
Interventions: A 12-week intervention period of omega-3 PUFA or placebo was followed by a 40-week monitoring period; the total study period was 12 months.
Results: The difference between the groups in the cumulative risk of progression to full-threshold psychosis was 22.6% . Polyunsaturated fatty acids also significantly reduced positive symptoms, negative symptoms, general symptoms and improved functioning compared with a placebo. There were no negative side effects.
Conclusions: omega-3 PUFAs reduce the risk of progression to psychotic disorder and may offer a safe and efficacious strategy for indicated prevention in young people with subthreshold psychotic states.
I take an Omega 3 supplement daily. Click on the image below to find out more about a high quality Omega 3 Fish Oil product - Carlson (affiliate link)
The American Psychiatric Association is proposing major changes to its diagnostic “bible”, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition. This is the manual that doctors, insurers and scientists use in deciding what’s officially a mental disorder and what symptoms to treat. The current manual is referred to as DSM IV. See what I say about DSM IV here: adhd-symptoms
The manual covers a wide spectrum of mental disorders, including, ADHD, Autism, substance abuse, mood, eating, anxiety, dementia, etc.
The draft manual is posted at www.DSM5.org and is up for public debate through April 20, 2010. Go take a look.
According to researchers at the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain and M.I.N.D. Institute, there is a disconnection between the center of the brain that allocates attention and the visual processing regions.
In the research, children with diagnosed ADHD and normal children were given a simple attention test while their brain waves were measured (especially the alpha rhythm). When part of the brain is emitting alpha rhythms, it shows that it is disengaged from the rest of the brain and not receiving or processing information optimally.
This is the first evidence from brain electrical patterns for a functional disconnection in cortical attention systems in ADHD.
The study appears in the online issue of the journal Biological Psychiatry.
More info: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100111155116.htm
A California Supreme Court recently rejected limits on medical marijuana, ruling that anyone with a prescription may possess an amount reasonable for their medical condition.
Several SF Bay Area doctors who recommend medical marijuana for their patients said in recent interviews that their client base had expanded to include teenagers with psychiatric conditions including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
“One of the worst ideas of all time” states Stephen Hinshaw, the chairman of the psychology department at the University of California, Berkeley. He cited studies showing that tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the active ingredient in marijuana (cannabis), disrupts attention, memory and concentration — functions already compromised in people with attention deficit disorder.
In a December issue of US News and World Report, there was an article on “The Lure of an ADHD Treatment Minus the Meds”. The article focused on Neurofeedback therapy for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Neurofeedback, also called EEG (electroencephalogram) biofeedback, has been investigated as an ADHD treatment since the 1970s but no intensive studies were completed.
More recent research has shown that EEG biofeedback therapy for AD/HD results in significant improvement in cognitive functioning for 75-85 percent of patients. It is possible faster and better outcomes might be achieved by combining other alternative therapies with EEG biofeedback.
Barbara Reed Stitt, author of Food and Behavior, had learned about the profound effects of food in the unlikely position of probation officer. The first thing she did with anyone who was came under her care was to change their diet. Children who were hyperactive, distorted in their thinking, unruly, etc., were able to turn their lives around.
Dr. Stitt and her husband Paul, a biochemist, approached their local school with an offer that was as unusual as it was generous. Take out the vending machines, take out the processed foods, and feed the students fresh, whole, nutritious food and watch their behavior improve.
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A California Supreme Court recently rejected limits on medical marijuana, ruling that anyone with a prescription may possess an amount reasonable for their medical condition.
